Kurt Voss (born Kurt Christopher Peter Wössner) (born September 16, 1963) is an American film director, screenwriter, and musician-songwriter. Voss's credits include Will Smith's debut Where The Day Takes You; the Justin Theroux, Alyssa Milano and Ice-T action film Below Utopia; actress Jaime Pressly's debut feature Poison Ivy: The New Seduction, and rock and roll related films including Down and Out with the Dolls and Ghost on The Highway: A Portrait of Jeffrey Lee Pierce and The Gun Club.
Voss has frequently collaborated with fellow UCLA alumnus Allison Anders. Working together over twenty-five years, the duo created a trilogy of rock films: Border Radio (1987), a portrait of the L.A. punk scene featuring John Doe (X) and Dave Alvin (The Blasters) and published by The Criterion Collection; the Sundance-premiered Sugar Town (1999),Sugar Town (film) featuring John Taylor (Duran Duran) and Rosanna Arquette; and Strutter (2012), a Kickstarter-financed independent film.
Training at UCLA and Border Radio Voss graduated (UCLA Film School) at age twenty with the designation of most promising graduate.Sue Adolphson, San Francisco Chronicle, "Young Director Bets Heavily on 'Genuine Risk'", November 18, 1990, p.29 Border Radio began as a sub rosa project at the UCLA film school by Allison Anders, Dean Lent and Kurt Voss, who pooled their talents as co-producers, co-writers and co-directors to turn out their $82,000 black and whiteUPI, The Daily Spectrum, "Trio of College Film Makers Hit It Big With Border Radio," September 9, 1988, p. 2 film, which the Los Angeles Times called "quite simply one of the best films ever made about the world of rock music".Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times, "'Border Radio' Captures Rock-Music Life", September 2, 1988, p.4 Critic Kevin Thomas added, "The music and image go together so powerfully, it's poetry." Chris D. Stars as an underground L.A. rocker who flees to Mexico to hang out and drink beer after robbing the safe of a club owner who cheated his band.Jonathan Gold, L.A. Weekly, "Border Radio," September 9–15, 1988, p.76 Upon its theatrical release,Eric Harwood, Daily Variety, "'Betrayed Tops Fiery L.A. B.O. Sesh, September 7, 1988, p.6 L.A. Weekly critic Johnathan Gold wrote, "This is the movie Penelope Spheeris wishes she had made, a movie that explores the punk aesthetic without condescending to it, a sweet, funny no-future movie that hints there is a future after all."Jonathan Gold, L.A. Weekly, Film Pick of The Week, September 9–15, 1988, p. 76 Creem Magazine called it "The sort of small film one longs to see more often"S.A., Creem Magazine, Capsule Reviews, January 1988 and praised "...A subtle, dynamic score by Dave Alvin." It was not only the opportunity to do a full-fledged soundtrack that attracted Alvin to Border Radio. "The film was different," he says. "It had three directors, which is very different. I realized that what I do as a musician is very close to what independent filmmakers do." Alvin also felt akin with Border Radio because the film is set on his turf, inside the Los Angeles rock scene; in fact, its main actors are Alvin's longtime friends Chris D. of Divine Horsemen and X's John Doe."Cort Fernald, Calendar Magazine, "Alvin Tunes into Border Radio", September 1–15, 1988, p.50
The Hollywood Reporter had deemed Border Radio "A wonderfully quixotic look at vanishing dreams and misplaced integrity."Duane Burge, The Hollywood Reporter, November 19, 1987 But Voss' first feature experience was almost his last, when he became fed up with financial and distribution problems and turned to the trackSue Adolphson, San Francisco Chronicle, "Young Director Bets Heavily on 'Geniune Risk'", November 18, 1990, p.28 to support himself, with mixed result.Kurt Voss, Film Threat, "If There is a Santa Claus, Then Why Did Pincay Drop the Whip?" February 1992, p.16
Horseplayer His bad luck with horses led to two films dealing with the subject.Sue Adolphson, San Francisco Chronicle, "Young Director Bets Heavily on 'Genuine Risk'", November 18, 1990, p.28 Hollywood Reporter critic Duane Byrge found the first feature, Horseplayer, an "eerie and nauseating look into the most twisted form of artistic inspiration."Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter, "The Horseplayer", January 24, 1990, P.38 Reclusive Bud Cowan (Brad Dourif) is a weirdo who works in a liquor store. All bundled up in down jacket, ski mask and gloves, he sits in the cold box, making sure the shelves stay stocked with beverages. Bud's well-defended seclusion is breached when Mathew (M.K. Harris) and Randi (Sammi Davis), a pair of siblings, force themselves into his life. Mathew is an artist whose inspirations come from his sister's lovers. Randi seduces Bud, in effect mentally raping him, but Bud turns out to be a good deal less balanced than any of her previous conquests.Andy Klein, L.A. Reader, November 8, 1991, p.24 Kevin Thomas of The Los Angeles Times called the film "winning, thrilling... The L.A. minimalist movie at its best. A dry, deadpan psychological thriller that makes a virtue of its no-budget."Kevin Thomas, The Los Angeles Times, "Kurt Voss' Winning Thrilling "Horseplayer." October 25, 1991 P.F16 Critic Betsey Sherman of The Boston Globe wrote, "This psychothriller is one of the best American independent films this year."Betsey Sherman, The Boston Globe, "Dourif Shines in Fine "Horseplayer"", September 10, 1990, P.10 The L.A. Reader's critic Andy Klein said, "The story bears a certain resemblance to The Servant; the difference is that none of director-cowriter Kurt Voss's characters, even the largely loathsome Mathew, are reduced to unreal symbols. Horseplayer is one of the most professional and engrossing independents of the year."Andy Klein L.A. Reader, November 8, 1991, p.24 Lead actor Brad Dourif explained his attraction to the role of Bud thusly: "I'd done Horseplayer roles before, but the writing in it is so terrific. There just aren't that many scripts that are that good."Jean Oppenheimer, Village View, "Back In The Saddle," November 8–14, 1991, p.10
Columnist Stephen Saban chronicled the production of Horseplayer in an article entitled "Horse D'Oeuvre" in the February 1990 issue of Details magazine.Stephen Saban, Details Magazine, "Horse D'Oeuvre," February 1990, pp.61-66
Horseplayer had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically by Greycat Films.Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter, "The Horseplayer," October 25, 1991, p.32
Genuine Risk With a 1950-ish jazz score and dark tone (though the film was shot in color), Genuine Risk tells the story of Henry (Peter Berg), a boyishly naive loser at the track who ends up a runner for racketeer Paul Hellwart (Terence Stamp). Voss considered casting the veteran Stamp a coup. Upon the film's theatrical release,Amy Dawes, Daily Variety,""Edward","Grifters", Sharp Exclusives", December 11, 1990, P.6 Los Angeles Times critic Michael Wilmington said, "Probably young writer-director wanted the kind of high-style gritty mix Stephen Frears achieves in The Grifters. But Genuine Risk is safer, slighter: a formula job that only rarely breaks the mold."Michael Wilmington, Los Angeles Times, "Kurt Voss' Genuine Risk Doesn't Take Very Many", December 7, 1990, P.F6 LA Weekly called Genuine Risk "...A chance to show tough-guy untraviolence accompanied by crisp, state-of-the-art sound effects of bones cracking...glossy, vapid, morally bankrupt."Arion Berger, LA Weekly, December 13, 1990, p. 63
Alain Silver, editor of Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, found elements to appreciate in the film: "Genuine Risk has the deadliest of the femme fatales and is the most traditional in approach. It is also the most self-conscious, as locations, lighting style, and art direction constantly underscore the sordidness of the milieu. Even more overt is the script which features lines like, 'A racetrack is like a woman...a man weathers so much banality in pursuit of the occasional orgasmic moment.' What distinguishes Genuine Risk is the offhandedness of its violence, where people are beaten or die painfully, abruptly and without reason in stagings that capture the disturbing tone of videotapes of real events from surveillance cameras. It also has some wryness and novelty in its plot and casting, most notably Terrence Stamp as a 60's British pop star turned petty mobster."Alain Silver, Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, "Genuine Risk", P.421–422 Voss himself said, "Genuine Risk was a movie with Peter Berg and Terence Stamp that was done as part of the noir wave of the time. Actually a better example of the genre was Delusion (1991), which I was a writer on. But Genuine Risk had some good stuff in it, too. I really liked working with Terence Stamp, because he's so economical an actor."
Delusion The L.A. Weekly summarized Delusion's plot thusly: George (Jim Metzler), an executive who's embezzled $450,000 to start his own computer firm in Reno, falls prey instead on dat old debbil road to a flaky Mafia contract killer named Chevy (Kyle Secor) and his lippy sidekick (Jennifer Rubin).Tom Carson, L.A. Weekly, August 16–22, 1991, p.64 A collaboration between Voss and the film's debut director, Carl Colpaert, Delusion was featured in Paper Magazine's 'Best of Guide', where film critic Dennis Dermody called it "...A nerve-racking desert noir thriller...a moody and unnerving film."Dennis Dermody, Paper Magazine *Best of Guide*, "Best of Film": "Delusion", June 1, 1991, P.20 Gary Franklin from KABC-TV said, "...It's A 10!...A major sleeper...Trust me - See Delusion."Gary Franklin, KABC-TV, Los Angeles Times Calendar, August 4, 1991, P.16 Critic Stuart Klawans of The Nation wrote, "It's a delight...Discover and cherish.".Stuart Klawans, The Nation, August 4, 1991, P. 16 Village Voice's Georgia Brown claimed: "An auspicious first film...(that) easily beats most of the studio competition."Georgia Brown, Village Voice, August 4, 1991, P.16 Terry Kelleher of Newsday opined: "A 90's film noir...visually striking and refreshingly feminist."Terry Kelleher, Newsday, August 4, 1991, P.16 Seattle Times writer John Hartl said: "An amusingly twisty, and entertaining film noir homage."John Hartl, Seattle Times, August 4, 1991, P.16 Debut actress Jennifer Rubin also earned acclaim, Playboy resident critic Bruce Williamson asserting,"...Jennifer Rubin steals every scene she has."Bruce Williamson, Playboy, August 4, 1991, P.16 Boston Globe writer Robin Adam Sloan agreed, writing, "Jennifer Rubin has charged the screen with sex appeal."Robin Adam Sloan, Boston Globe, August 4, 1991, P.16 Kevin Thomas of The L.A. Times wrote, "The clever way in which Colpaert and his co-writer Kurt Voss bring Delusion to its conclusion allows the film to wryly comment on the capacity of two seemingly very different men to give way to a macho posturing that reveals money is more important than any person,"Kevin Thomas, L.A. Times, Delusion Races Past Plot Holes With Style, Humor, August 9, 1991, p. F12 Daily News film critic Bob Strauss adding, "Delusion's climactic sequence injects contemporary strains of greed any misogyny into a classic western motif—it's funny and a little frightening to see that the frontier is not only open, but getting wider."Bob Strauss, L.A. Daily News, "Delusion Exposes Dark Side of America, August 9, 1991, p.16
Where the Day Takes You